why don’t VMware just change the default for silent install of VMtools for Guests running under ESX.

however the crux of the matter is do not install Vmware tools with the complete option on ESX guests. This installs the shared folders feature which is not available on ESX. This causes the VMware tools to keep a file (hgfs.dat) open and can cause errors when logging off a guest. To disable the shared folders feature, remove hgfs from the registry key ProviderOrder under KEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlNetworkProviderOrder.